Thanksgiving Day

Over here in the States we are celebrating Thanksgiving Day today. A day full of food, family and fiends. A day to take the time - make the time - to reflect on what we are thankful for. Our lives are so very busy that we often forget the simple act of "Thanks." Too often we open our mouths in a negative fashion instead of the much needed positive.

There is much for me to be thankful for: my life, my husband and kids, my extended family and all my friends... And I try to make it a point every day to let them know because who knows what tomorrow may bring... 

I chose this picture for today because it also reminded me, as I mentioned in the beginning, that today is more that what we are thankful for, as in "things," it's also for turning to the person next to us and saying "thanks for being a part of my life." In light of this thought, I turn to you, dear reader, and offer my thanks to you, for taking time out of your day to see what's up on my blog.

Thank you. And have a very blessed day, whether you're eating turkey or not.

~Ayla~

The Autumn Experience

Deep breath in. Hold. Release.

Ahh. Doesn't that feel good? I just stepped in the house after spending a few glorious minutes outside. I enjoy being outside, this time of year especially. I don't necessarily do anything; I haven't quite let myself get into specific yard work as I'm more the inside work person, but to be outside in fall/autumn is amazing.

The leaves of the trees are all turned and the air is cooler. Some days colder than others, but no more blistering heat waves. I can pull on my favorite sweater or jacket and curl up in a seat outside. The wind blows more, it seems, this time of year, and every little gust pulls loosened leaves from the trees to rain down in a cascade of color. The ground is a blanket of yellow, gold, red and orange. The trees who are practically bare still stand proud, ready for their winter slumber, yet still a tenacious leaf or two clings, determined to hang on despite the inevitable change. These too shall fall one of these days.

With the kids, I'll take them out and have contests of who can catch the most fallen leaves. I pulled out a rake yesterday (ooh my arms) and turned our yard into a huge maze of pathways that is practically covered over this morning, but allowed for much play and romp. Taking this same rake, haha, the kids and I pull the leaves into huge piles so they can live every child's dream of jumping into leaf piles. 

On a more grown-up note, I've always enjoyed love in the autumn. Yes, springtime is popular with new growth and fresh starts. But personally, spring leads directly into summer - one of my least favorite seasons. Okay, summer does bring out a certain sultriness, but it comes with sweaty, sticky, humid ickyness - and I'm not talking about the good kind, either.

But autumn, with its cooler weather, paints the perfect picture of hand holding and snuggling into each other. If I had to put an age to the seasons, Spring time would be the first blushes of new love. Summer time is the hot and passionate no-holds barred almost anyone is good lust. Winter is the contentment of everlasting love, and autumn...Autumn is for the deep, knowledgeable love. People who have been there, done that and know what they want from life and from their lover. Or is willing to accept what their lover wants or needs. Desires to be together stem from practicality, too. To remain curled up together because the floorboards are too cool to step upon, snuggling up tight to your lover at bedtime because of the nighttime chill. Secret whispers to each other seem to mean more.

Enjoy this season while you can, because it never seems to last long enough.

Erogenous Zones

When we write romance, of any kind, we put down on the pages a man (or men) we can be proud of, we can love, who can in turn love us completely. Men who can eventually understand us, and if not understand, at least accept us. This is why I find it interesting to browse around at some of the men's point of view sites, to see how the male species see us as women. Are they on the mark or still struggling?


I stumbled upon this particular article that seems to hit the right spots - pun intended. Even though, in my opinion, it does miss one important one: our minds. Still, wouldn't it be nice if more men read and actually practiced the blatant advice given?


http://www.askmen.com/dating/love_tip/32_love_tip.html

Positive or Negative?

Can you guess what is in this picture? I'm sure most of you can. It's a pregnancy test strip.

When was the last time you saw one of these? When was the last time you had to use one, and were you panicked or thrilled knowing you were testing yourself?

This past weekend I had my own reacquaintance with the ol' test strip. I've felt under the weather this past week, nothing serious, just...off kilter. I really worried when we went to a small festival in town that featured a few little kid rides. I took my youngest on one that simply turned in a big circle. No big deal, right?  

Well, I usually have an iron stomach when it comes to rides, but yesterday, whew, I didn't think I'd make it. I stared at the lettering on my son's shirt and prayed hard for the ride to be over. I never did get sick, but it felt too damn close for my liking.

Naturally, I thought I was pregnant. So did my husband. Now you should know, he doesn't want us to have any more children (but he did admit, if I am, then we'll love this one, too). I'm content as we are, but wouldn't be adverse to another. So on our way home from the festival yesterday, I bought a test kit. This is the first one I've had in a few years and let me tell you, the things that went through my head were phenomenal! I was happy with the thought of being pregnant, yet so much boggled my mind. Again, if you've ever had to use one of these tests, you know what I'm talking about.

This was me last night: I'm already making plans and lists of things we need, how we would get them, looking on the calendar to see how far along I probably am, when I'd need to see my doctor, what kind of lifestyle changes we'd have to make with another little one to come. When would he or she come, a name for the little he or she...a major stressor!

All my worry last night and lists I'd made were put to the test this morning. I went to the bathroom, used the test strip, and the result...a resounding negative. I was left with a nothing-to-do Sunday as all my plans (planning for baby number four) fizzled out in less than three minutes.

Am I happy? or Whew? I'm kinda both. The more I think about it though, "whew," fits the bill. I have enough stress in my life as it is. haha

So you tell me, what would run through your head if you found yourself needing to use a pregnancy test kit? Now take it one step farther; wouldn't it be great to put something like this into a story? Potential for so much emotion... 

I'm sorry officer; it really wasn't my fault

I wish I could have said that. I also wish I could have pulled off the ditz angle like in the pic. Unfortunately, my kids were with me, and I cannot do the dumb routine in front of them.

As if my jumble of a life couldn't stand one more hit, I got pulled over a couple of days ago...for speeding. I was only going 41, jeesh, and on a five lane road at that. But the kicker, it was in a school zone during school end time. Man, the $$$ fine!

I had just picked up my own kids at a nature class they take every couple of weeks and it honestly didn't register to me that other kids were getting out of their regular school at this same time. We go down this particular road quite a bit (not anymore), and the officer pointed out the blinking lights - overhead. I look for school zone blinking lights along the roadside, not overhead. I still was written up.

This beyond stinks! He could have let me go with a warning, ya know. I have an impeccable driving record and our car is a little blue thing, not some kind of sporty number. I definately would have learned my lesson with a warning. The ticket was quite a bit overdone, in my opinion.


Hope your week's gone better...

What I love about Writing

Despite the edits, the endless wait for a response, the rejections, I still love to write. In good days and bad, I know I can always take pen and paper or fingertips and keyboard and immerse myself into another place and time. I can do this with a good book as well, and trust me, I sometimes spend waaaay too much time engrossed in someone else's story. At the end of the day though, my own ideas always fulfill me the most.

I can't stop the ideas. I can be in the shower, sitting outside, heck, even watching a cartoon with my kids and slam! an idea or a character will drop into my head and stick. This is excitement and anticipation, like meeting a prospective lover for the first time. What do I do? Quite simply, I play. What do the characters look like, what are their names, what is going on in their lives? What is the problem and why? What is the solution? Why would that person/problem need a particular solution anyway?

The list of questions can go on and on and most often these questions never get answered directly in the story, but the Q&A works to develop the individuals and the plot.

Earlier tonight (rather, late last night), I met with my good buddy Marie Harte and among many other discussions, we chatted about a story I'm working on. The heroine played basketball at one time and guess what? My knowledge of basketball stems from tidbits I remember from middle school. (I'll be honest, I am not nor have I ever been into sports as a personal goal or enjoyment. I actually found a way to exempt my PE requirements in college!) Well tonight, I felt like a complete ditz asking Marie to explain, exactly, what constitutes a free throw, what exactly is a rebound, asking her if she knew of a "Dummies" book for basketball.... Let's just say we had several good laughs - all at my expense. In all sincerity by the way, thanks Marie!

My point, when the story is all said and done, will it have tons of detail about basketball? No. But in order for me to depict realistic characters, I have to know about them. And, as this one person is a basketball gun-ho type of chick, I need to be up this knowledge or she'll flop.

Even though I am not a sports person, I am enjoying learning about this sport now. Am I going to go out and play it? Ha! Not likely. Will I ever use this information again? Perhaps, depends on future characters and storylines. Am I having fun learning and writing about this basketball chick? Yes. Will I enjoy putting this new found knowledge into legible and understandable script? Most definitely!

Luckily, I haven't lost this love of writing. I'm saying this because I've heard stories of people in creative professions who become wrapped up in the ins-and-outs of the technical or even the economic aspect of their career that their creative edge becomes a chore. I am also writing this to remind myself that should that day come for me, I'll need to look back and remember why I write in the first place. It's a love. A pure love.

Sit back and enjoy the pics...

So sorry to disappoint, but this post is down now. Please enjoy any of my current Saturday posts, which is now the picture day. :)

Veteran's Day: Remember and Reflect

"Courage/Bravery doesn't mean you aren't scared. It means you go anyway."

I think this says it all...

The Varying Shades of Menage

Periodically I have come across interesting articles regarding threesomes. How to participate, proper etiquette, and whom to involve are some of the most common themes. What I always find interesting, however, is the absolute minuscule "advice" on having a m/f/m threesome. Yes, as erotic romance authors, we read and/or write about this particular group with abundance. But according to the "real" world, this type of grouping seems nonexistent.

You want to involve two women and one man? Twenty-five (hundred) articles will tell you how. You want to convince your girlfriend/wife to do one? Twenty-three (hundred) more explains the ins and outs of this. Involvement of two men and a woman -- in any combination -- you'll end up seeing lists of erotic romance titles or porn sites. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it? Especially when you know relationships of the latter do exist.

Maybe, I wonder, we hear less of a two-guy, one girl relationship because...why, really? Are they more intimate? Do they tend to make the men involved (even if they men aren't "doing" each other) seem less manly? Or maybe it's simply because in this type of relationship/encounter, discretion is an unspoken agreement. Maybe because women, in general, can be more discreet than a man and usually, the woman in the group is the one in control. Think about it. Even in a D/s situation, where the woman is the sub, she can always say her safe word and back out. That's a lot of control. And control means not feeling the need to brag on every little thing that occurs in her life. She doesn't feel the need to stand at the proverbial water cooler and tout her sex life to everyone within hearing distance.

Or is there a sadder side of the story? A woman involved in a f/f/m encounter may be labeled loose, but most of the time her encounter can be brushed aside as an experiment, whereas a woman involved in a m/m/f or m/f/m situation is a darker breed of woman as in one who'll walk on the darker side of life?

A conundrum of ideas.

Me? I am okay with any menage combination really. I will admit, though, as a woman, that a mix involving two men way ups the scale of sexiness. What can make this combo even more sexy, again, in my opinion, is how the relationship even begins. Is it better to already be involved in a two-person relationship then add a third? Or is it better for everyone involved to begin at the same place? I'll share my thoughts on this in a latter post.

For now, what do you thing about the many variations of the entanglement of three people? Do you have a preference, and why? I'd love you hear your thoughts...

Are You a Listmaker?

I live my life by lists. It started sometime in college perhaps, but I'd be lost without my personal list of to-dos. I like to be organized and list making helps make that possible. Now, looking at my desk, you may scratch your head and wonder how. I know my husband does. So I may have a few piles here and there, or my filing drawers may have a piece of paper sticking out, so what? I know exactly what is in that particular pile, and I know that the paper sticking out is exactly where it should be. It may not be neat as a pin, but damn it, I know where everything is!  You want last year's power bill? Here it is. You want the manual for the weed eater? There it is. You want that receipt for the watch that no longer works? It's right there.

But I digress... Back to the lists. I am not scatterbrained - I don't think - but I do have a lot on my mind. Any mother out there will tell you the same. Between the kids needs, the schooling needs, the husbands "wants," your own needs, including the writing needs, the pet's needs, the housekeeping, the cooking, the errands, ad nasuem, you know the picture.

Most mornings I wake up (late, I am NOT a morning person by any stretch of the imagination), grab my cup of coffee, my notebook and pen and try to find a few quiet minutes. Usually it's outside, but the weather's getting nippy so it's a little corner inside for now. I sip my coffee, thank God for the new day, and write down, in list format, things I hope to accomplish today. Not only for me, but for my family as well. I'll have a list for family to-do's, personal to-do's and writing to-do's. Do I always finish these lists? No. Sometimes my day completely veers from the list. That's okay though, because I always have something to go back to.

My husband likes to tease me about my lists, but I would be a miserable lost puppy without them. What about you? Are you a lister too, or are you more of a fly by the seat of your pants type person and how does that work for you? I'm always curious about these other sides of life.

It's All New!

Yea! I am thrilled to give you a first look at my upcoming release through Total E-Bound. This is the amazing cover. Doesn't it just look delicious! Many thanks to the great art department at TEB!

This first release of mine through TEB, The Deciding Factor, involves a high school teacher (Aly) moonlighting at a school for furthering the learning of erotic arts, a college flame (Sawyer) wanting to renew his acquaintance with her and a high school ex (Luke) who shows up to rock her world.

Aly doesn't know what to make of Sawyer and Luke. Well, she knows she wants them, and they don't mince words when tell her they want her too, but what's the solution? Whom will she choose? Or will she?

Here's an excerpt...

“You’re right in what you said, Aly,” Sawyer said suddenly, stepping towards her with Luke right beside him.


“I am? About what?”

“Everything you said tonight,” Luke answered. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it ourselves. But Sawyer believes we need to sit on the idea some more. Make sure it’s the right decision, overall. I say, let’s start now, but he wants to wait.” The look Luke shot Sawyer let Aly know Luke didn’t agree with his friend’s decision to wait, for whatever reason, but he’d go along with the results. If she read their silent communications correctly.

“Okay?” She didn’t want to delve into details of what they were talking about, she simply wanted out. “So I can go now? No hard feelings? I’ll see you later, then?”

At their nods, she walked forward as if to move between them. Just before she brushed past, Sawyer reached out and cupped her face. “Where do you think you’re going without a goodbye kiss?” he murmured.

“No kisses,” she started to say in protest, but the words ended on his lips as his mouth took hers fully. Her hands shot up to stop him, not believing he dared kiss her right in front of Luke. What if she got hit in the head when Luke swung?

In only seconds, she nearly forgot about Luke, moaning as Sawyer stroked his tongue against the length of her own, the caress racing all the way through her core. She reached up to touch his face and stiffened when a set of hands gripped her shoulders. Sawyer ignored her lapse and deepened the kiss, softly demanding her response. Luke’s body crowded her from behind, his heat warming her back. Aly couldn’t decide if she should be scared off or turned on.

“My turn.”

She barely heard Luke’s whispered comment, but it must have made its way to Sawyer’s ears because the next thing she knew, large hands turned her around. Sawyer’s mouth slid off hers, only to be replaced with the fierce demands of Luke’s lashing tongue. She surrendered to the assault, whimpered as her panties went from damp to sopping, and gave herself over to the kiss, even when Sawyer began rubbing her back.

It wasn’t right to compare men. She should be bored with Sawyer’s lazy kisses. She should be repulsed with Luke’s aggressive mouth. Instead, both intrigued her and heated her body like no one person ever had. It’d be impossible to choose between the two of them. It had to be both or none.

Aly made up her mind to go with whatever the guys wanted. Her reference to a threesome had been a joke, but if they were serious, at this point, she wouldn’t argue.

Her thoughts went no farther because all of a sudden, she found herself standing in the hallway outside the door with both men opposite her, staring at her with pure lust.


“Sleep on it, Aly. Like Luke said, plans have changed. We need to decide what we’ll do.”

The door shut softly in her face.



"Uh! What the hell?" I'm asking myself this. Are you curious to see if they're really going through with this? Will she barge back into the room or tell them to fuck off? Will the guys tell her to screw herself and fuck each other? So many decisions.... To find out the answers, mark your calendars for January 2011 when you can purchase this book from TEB to find out what just what decisions are made with Aly, Sawyer and Luke!

Oh, and have a happy Thursday!